If
you were here last week,
you recognized that the Christian conduct proposed by Paul, as he
interprets Jesus, is very tough.
As we conclude looking at this portion of the letter to the Romans, the
words are even tougher. We need go no further than the very first
sentence, “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.”
May I ask you, as I ask myself, how well are we doing with that one?
When you and I responded to the inward
call of our Lord to be a Christian, that is to strive to follow Jesus,
we embarked on an arduous and exciting journey. The goals that we
embraced are hard, and in the process of growing to live them, we make
mistakes and fall short. That is one reason why we proclaim the need
for Church participation; we need a community of believers who will
pick us up, dust us off and start us all over again with words of
forgiveness and encouragement.
Outside of the Church, the sad reality
is that people look to us and say, “The Church is full of hypocrites.
They don’t practice what they preach.” Isn’t it strange that many who
are not part of any Church are so quick to criticize when people who
are trying to live a Godly life fall short. There is glee in their
voices. I do not
apologize for one second for the fact that indeed the Church does have
hypocrites, but I will gladly cast my lot with a group of people who
are striving toward a high and lofty goal in preference to those who
lumber along with virtually no goal. As the motivational speakers say,
it is better to have a high goal and fall short than to have a low goal
and achieve it.
Some of you may remember that years
ago there was a popular song that began with the words. “Oh there’s
nothing to be ashamed of, if you stub your toe on the moon.” I can’t
remember all the words, but the song ends with the phrase “you’re a
hero, because, well, you tried, so don’t give up too soon if you stub
your toe on the moon.” The Church, in my mind, does not need to be
embarrassed by its hypocrites and those who fall short: rather the
Church should celebrate the fact that people aim high and try.
In his great book “The Gospel For The
Person Who Has Everything” William Willimon, Dean of the Chapel
at Duke University when I knew him, and now Bishop in the United
Methodist Church says “The person who says that he or she dislikes the
Church because it is full of sinners and hypocrites makes the erroneous
assumption that we in the Church are embarrassed by our clientele. We
are not any more embarrassed over our collection of sinners than a
hospital is ashamed of its sick people. Sinners, hypocrites, men and
women of little faith, outcasts, the sick, and hurting people were the
ones who clustered around Jesus. This rather seedy group of characters
made Jesus not the least bit uncomfortable. They were precisely the
reason why Jesus was in the world. Besides, as someone has suggested,
today’s hypocrites may not be like the self righteous Pharisee who
paraded into the temple while the humble publican stayed outside and
prayed, ‘Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ The new hypocrites may be
those outside the Church who pray "God, I thank thee that I am not like
all those sinful and hypocritical people in the Church.”
To be part of the Church is not to
suffer from delusions of sainthood. (I have met few people in the
Church with that alleged fantasy); rather, it is to admit bravely that one has needs and weaknesses, and that
one wishes to work these things out in the presence of a gracious God
and fellow sinners. The main difference between the sinners inside the
Church and those on the outside is that the ones inside are free to
admit to some of their sinfulness, because they have already received
some of the freedom of forgiveness. That is a rather significant
difference.
The Church is, above all, a group of
people: a more human than a divine institution- that is its glory. It
was no accident that Jesus called a group of disciples, not isolated
individuals. Nor was it by chance that immediately after the death and
resurrection of Jesus, we find a group of people gathered together in
the name of Jesus. The Christian way is not an easy one, the world
being what it is, and we being who we are. We need others. Strong
people are those who are strong enough to admit they need other
people.” (pages 83-84).
It is in a group of people- that is
what the Church is- that we can do as Paul suggested “rejoice with
those who rejoice. Weep with those who weep, and live in harmony with
one another by not being haughty. Here we can associate with the lowly.
Here we are seekers, so there is no need for any to claim to be wiser
than another.
Then Paul says “If it is possible, so
far as depends upon you, live peaceably with all.” Here we see the
realism of Paul. He does not give a flat out command, he prefaces
his remark with “ if it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live
peaceable with all.” That says to me that sometimes it is not possible,
and at other times, despite our best effort, which is the best we can
do, others refuse to cooperate. Still, we are to try, and never to be
spiteful and return spite when we receive it. Now, I don’t need to
remind you that is hard to do; yet we are to strive to do just that.
Sometimes, we encounter people who
have erected such a high barrier that few can attain acceptance,
because such people are uncompromising. Knowing that, Paul suggests
that we should hate what is evil and cling to what is good. That is
tough, because for most of us, a value judgment is required. Recently, I read a sermon on the
Internet by J. David Hoke. I know nothing about him*, but he had an
illustration that points out the subjectivity of goodness in what some
would say is uncompromisingly evil.
A state of Mississippi Senator
addressed the legislature in 1958 with this comment.
“You have asked me how
I feel about whiskey. All right, here is how I stand on this question:
If when you say whiskey, you mean the devils brew, the poison scourge,
the bloody monster that defiles innocence, yea literally takes the
bread from the mouths of little children; if you mean the evil drink
that topples the Christian man and woman from the pinnacles of
righteous, gracious living into the bottomless pit of degradation and
despair, shame and helplessness and hopelessness, then certainly, I am
against it with all of my power.
But, if when you
say whiskey, you mean the oil of conversation, the philosophic wine,
the stuff that is consumed when good fellows get together, that puts a
song in their hearts and laughter on their lips and the warm glow of
contentment in their eyes, if mean Christmas cheer; if you mean the
stimulating drink that puts the spring in an old gentlemen’s step on a
frosty morning; if you mean the drink that enables a man to magnify his
joy, and his happiness and to forget, if only for a little while,
life’s great tragedies and heartbreaks and sorrows, if you mean that
drink, the sale of which pours into out treasuries untold
millions of dollars, which are used to provide tender care for our
crippled children, our blind, our deaf, our dumb, our pitiful aged and
infirm, to build highways, hospitals and schools, then certainly, I
am in favor of it. This is my stand. I will not retreat from it.
I will not compromise.” (A sermon “Loving By Grace” J. David Hoke- Dec.
15, 1996)
Hate what is evil, cling to what is
good: that’s a wonderful goal, but is requires a huge amount of
introspection, prayer and the making of decisions that are in the best
interests of all. That is hard, and it will not result in agreement by
all. Let me give you some examples.
In Darfur, in the western part of the
Sudan, the Janjaweed government-backed military are involved in a rebel
outbreak that has all the trappings of an ethnic cleansing struggle.
Villages have been
systematically burned, and black males particularly have been executed.
One Mother talking to a television reporter told of the loss of her
home, and the killing of her husband and five male children right
before her eyes. How do we deal with that kind of evil? How do we
overcome that evil with good?
Like you. I have been glued to the TV
witnessing the unbelievable destruction of hurricane Katrina in
Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. It is beyond my human
comprehension. And then, right in the midst of this terrible
catastrophe, we see opportunists looting stores, not of essentials but
of computers, boom boxes, electronic devices and worse, shooting at
those who seek life’s necessities or shooting at the police as they try
to bring order. How can we overcome the evil of such people with good?
Let’s bring it closer to home. This
Church is located in the midst of a section of town with unemployment,
people who are unable, for many reason, some bad and some
circumstantial, to afford housing or even rooms. There are addicted
people staying in our locale, people living in the bush, and people who
are hungry and come regularly to the Soup Kitchen and the Food Bank. There are also people exploiting the
generosity of citizens in this community, the various assisting
agencies and this Church. How do we deal with this? How do we overcome
the evil of the circumstances by doing good and if we chose to do good,
how is it measurable or should it be? One year ago, we were giving out 4 or
5 bags of groceries each day. Someone gave me a question sheet
that a Church in Abbotsford used to try to screen people. I
adapted that sheet, and began asking people who came to the door, what
is your name? That is all I asked, and I wrote it down with the date
that Retta or I gave them a bag of food. Now, one year later, we give
out maybe two or three bags of food per week. Was that the right thing
to do? I don’t know. How
do you and I determine when we are truly helping needy people, and when
are we enabling them to perpetuate their way of living? I don’t know-
it’s tough.
In last Friday’s Chief, there was an
article about the proposed logging of an area in Paradise Valley along
the Cheakamus River. What is the proper response to that proposal? Does
this impact good water, runoff erosion, or simply enjoying the view of
wooded hillsides? What is the proper response for Christians to
make? I don’t know! But, these issues and their consequenses have
to be considered seriously.
Blessing those who persecute you and
overcoming evil with good are very tough areas of consideration. I dare
say that in the questions that I have posed, if we were to have a
discussion there would be a wide variance of ideas right in this
congregation. Those on
the outside, who are not part of the Church say we are hypocrites! So
be it. Are they wrestling with these issues? Are they seeking what is
best for the most? Are they concerned about anything other than their
own position in life? It’s
hard being a Christian, so I am comfortable with the accusation hurled
from the outside, because those in the Church are trying to reach high
and lofty solutions. Better to seek high and lofty solutions and fail
than to seek purely selfish goals and succeed.
Can you live with Paul’s solution? “If
your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them
something to drink. Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with
good.” That is a goal for any Church that wishes
to be a great Church. It is not easy. It is avoided by many
congregations. So, if you want to make the world a better place, I
invite you to be part of the team called the Church of Jesus Christ,
where we try to overcome evil with good. And remember; there is nothing to be
ashamed of if you stub your toe on the moon, because you a hero if you
try.